Somewhere in the territory of Wisp Tree Town, Amir coughed up blood as he tried to endure the pain he felt from his injury.

Thanks to the life-saving artifact given to him by Twilight Rain, which activated at the last second, he didn’t die even after receiving an attack that should have burnt his body to a crisp.

All Slayers were highly valued by the Twilight Rain, so they were each given an artifact that they could command using their thoughts that would allow them to instantly and randomly teleport within a kilometer from where they were last located.

However, this was something that could only be used once. Even if they were given the same artifact, it would no longer activate because it was a one-person-use consumable.

Because of this, all Slayers would usually never use it unless it was a last resort.

“That Slime is crazy,” Amir muttered as he wiped the blood off his lips. “I was not informed that Colette had a Beast Companion like that.”

Just as he was thinking about what to do next, he heard someone speak to him from behind, which made his entire body stiffen.

“She’s not her beast companion.”

After a few seconds of shock, Amir hastily backed off as he looked behind him to see the person who managed to approach him without his notice.

“Y-You…,” Amir stuttered as he looked at the familiar yet unfamiliar person in front of him.

There had been a time when Amir was still part of the Reapers, which was the Assassin Organization composed of talented Apostles and Initiates, all of whom Twilight Rain was grooming to become part of the Slayers.

Back then, they were informed by their superior that a Half-Elf had crushed one of their hidden headquarters in the Kingdom of Gweliven, which greatly annoyed the Branch Guildmaster of Twilight Rain.

Because of this, he had asked for the Half-Elf to be assassinated by the Reapers.

Amir was one of the candidates that was in line to accept the mission. However, after much consideration, the Higher-ups decided to choose Sid and Scarlet, who were both the best Assassins at that time.

The Blonde Assassin was heartbroken when he found out that Sid had died on the mission.

Amir had idolized Sid and treated him as his rival. In fact, the two of them were very close, so when he learned of his death, he decided to train harder in order to prevent the same thing from happening to him.

Sid didn’t return, but Scarlet completed the mission.

This was why the red-headed Dwarf was given ample resources, allowing her to break through the Ranks and become part of the Slayers a few months ahead of him.

As for Lux, his poster hung in the Mission Hall of Twilight Rain, bearing a large X on its surface.

Those who bore this mark were people who had been assassinated, so Amir was shocked to the core to see the only red-headed Half-Elf in the Kingdom of Gweliven standing before him.

“Y-You’re Lux Von Kaizer?” Amir asked.

“The one and only,” Lux replied as he gazed at the Ranker with a devilish smile on his face.

“You’re supposed to be dead! Scarlet killed you.”

“You’re right. I did ‘die’ back then. Since you have seen me, it’s your turn to die… is what I’d like to say, but I have questions, and I need answers.”

Before Amir could even do anything, he felt something wrap around his body, preventing him from escaping.

The next thing he saw was a creature without a face, who had wrapped him up with its tail, sealing his movements.

‘I-Impossible! Why is an Argonaut-Ranked Monster here?!” Amir started to panic because he sensed how strong the faceless Creature in front of him was.

He understood that no matter what he did, there was simply no chance to escape from the Monster who held him in place.

Left with no choice, Amir decided to end his life by biting the poisoned capsule that was hidden in one of his teeth.

But before he could do so, the Faceless Creature’s clawed hand entered his mouth and casually tore out the tooth that contained the poisoned capsule, making Amir cry out in pain.

Blood dripped down the corner of Amir’s lips as his only way of escaping his current situation disappeared without a trace.

“Kill me!” Amir shouted. “No matter what you do, you won’t get anything from me!”

“We’ll see about that,” Lux replied.

The Half-Elf chuckled as he approached the Assassin who tried to kidnap his very first friend in Elysium. Deep inside, he really did want to kill the Blonde Dwarf, but just like he told the other party earlier, he needed answers.

He wanted to know who was targeting Colette, and why she was being targeted. As long as he was able to find out the truth, he believed that he would be able to do something about it.

“Shax, tickle him,” Lux ordered.

Although the Nightgaunt had no face, a soundless laughter seemed to emit from his body after receiving Lux’s orders.

Nightgaunts were extremely rare monsters, and very few had seen them. More than anything else, they were notorious for “tickling” anyone whenever they felt like it, and those that were tickled by them would laugh until they wished they were dead.

Soon, Amir’s laughter reverberated in the surroundings. Even though blood dripped down from his mouth and he was in pain, Amir laughed nonstop as the Nightgaunt used its tail to tickle his neck, ears, face, and nose.

Lux found this scene quite amusing, and even Asmodeus, who had summoned himself on his own, rubbed his chin as he looked at Shax’s effective way of torturing people.

“Fascinating,” Asmodeus commented. “This is bringing the saying ‘laughter is the best medicine’ to a whole new level.”

Lux nodded because he wholeheartedly agreed with Asmodeus’ remark.

The Half-Elf had repeatedly made sure to examine Shax’s special skill, Tickle [EX], to ensure that it was a non-lethal ability.

According to its description, no one would die from this skill, making it an extremely vile and potent way to torture people.

Those tickled by Nightgaunts wouldn’t die even if they felt like dying no matter what, making them suffer for as long as the faceless creature wished.

“Stop! Hahahaaha! I’ll talk! Hahahahaha!” Amir shouted in desperation. “I’ll… Hahahaha! Tell you… Hahahaha…everything!”

Lux raised his hand and gave Shax the silent order to stop.

Although the Nightgaunt neither had a face nor said anything, the Half-Elf could feel that it was quite reluctant to stop tickling the Blonde Dwarf.

“I’ll ask you a few questions, and every time you give me the wrong answer, I will let Shax tickle you for ten minutes straight,” Lux stated. “Every time you lie to me, I will add ten more minutes to that penalty.

“If you annoy me, I will make you laugh for an entire day without rest. Don’t worry, I have plenty of stamina potions and recovery potions with me. I can make you laugh for days on end if I want to.”

Amir shuddered after hearing Lux’s words. He had only been tickled by Shax for nearly ten minutes, and he already felt that he was going crazy.

If he was tickled for an entire day, wouldn’t that mean that he would completely lose his sanity?

While he wasn’t afraid of dying, being tickled by the Nightgaunt for days on end seemed to be a fate much worse than death.

“Now, let’s start with the question, who are you?” Lux asked as he crossed his arms over his chest. “After that, tell me why you are targeting Colette and who are the people involved in this incident.”

Amir dreaded betraying his own organization, but he dreaded the Nightgaunt’s tickle more, so he decided to come clean and tell the devilish-looking Half-Elf everything he knew.

Perhaps, if he did that, the Half-Elf would find it in his heart to end his suffering and allow him to die a quick and painless death.